Shloka 21

Means to Liberation: Supremacy of Hari, Proper Salutations, and Purāṇic Authority

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच / आदौ वन्द्यः सर्ववेदैकवेद्यो वेदे शास्त्रे सेतिहासे पुराणे / सत्तां प्रायो विष्णुरेवैक एव प्रकाशते ऽतो नम्य एको हरिर्हि

Transliteration

sūta uvāca / ādau vandyaḥ sarvavedaikavedyo vede śāstre setihāse purāṇe / sattāṃ prāyo viṣṇurevaika eva prakāśate 'to namya eko harirhi

Translation

スータは言った。「初めに礼拝されるべきは、すべてのヴェーダによってのみ知られる唯一者である。ヴェーダ、シャーストラ、イティハーサ、プラーナのいずれにおいても、最高の実在として主として顕れるのはヴィシュヌただお一方。ゆえに、帰敬すべきは唯一のハリのみである。」

Word by Word

• sūtaḥ: Sūta
• sūtaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• ādau: in the beginning
• ādau: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• vandyaḥ: worthy of salutation
• vandyaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vandya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन); predicate adjective

• sarva-veda-eka-vedyaḥ: knowable by the one Veda that is all the Vedas
• sarva-veda-eka-vedyaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + veda (प्रातिपदिक) + eka (प्रातिपदिक) + vedya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन); compound adjective qualifying the implied subject (Viṣṇu/Hari)

• vede: in the Veda
• vede: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन)

• śāstre: in the treatise
• śāstre: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāstra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन)

• sa-itihāse: in (texts) together with Itihāsa
• sa-itihāse: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sa (अव्यय/उपसर्गसदृश) + itihāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन); ‘with Itihāsa’ sense

• purāṇe: in the Purāṇa
• purāṇe: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन)

• sattām: existence/being
• sattām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sattā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

• prāyaḥ: generally/mostly
• prāyaḥ: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prāyaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• viṣṇuḥ: Viṣṇu
• viṣṇuḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), Particle (निपात) of emphasis

• ekaḥ: one
• ekaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), Particle (निपात) of emphasis

• prakāśate: shines forth/is manifest
• prakāśate: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kāś (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद); with prefix pra- (प्र)

• ataḥ: therefore
• ataḥ: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), Causal adverb (हेतु-अव्यय)

• namyaḥ: to be bowed to
• namyaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: namya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन); predicate adjective

• ekaḥ: one alone
• ekaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• hariḥ: Hari (Viṣṇu)
• hariḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), Particle (निपात) giving emphasis/reason

Speaker

Sūta

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Sarva-vedaika-vedya: Viṣṇu/Hari is the single knowable Reality chiefly revealed by all authoritative texts; therefore He is the primary object of reverence.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman/Īśvara as the one tattva; śāstra-tātparya (overall purport) culminating in the supreme Lord.

Application: Read diverse teachings through a unifying lens: seek the central purport (tātparya) and orient devotion/ethics toward the highest reality rather than fragmentary aims.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Geographic Context

Type: scriptural horizon (Veda–Śāstra–Itihāsa–Purāṇa)

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 3.1.22-23 (clarifying supremacy and relation of other deities)

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Viṣṇu
• Hari
• Vedas
• Śāstras
• Itihāsas
• Purāṇas

FAQs

What is the central teaching of this verse in the Garuda Purana?

It asserts that across Veda, śāstra, Itihāsa, and Purāṇa, the ultimate Reality is chiefly revealed as Viṣṇu (Hari), who alone is worthy of worship.

How does this verse establish scriptural authority for devotion to Hari?

By explicitly citing multiple scriptural categories—Veda, śāstra, Itihāsa, and Purāṇa—as consistently pointing to Viṣṇu as the primary revealed truth.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Ground one’s practice in a clear spiritual center: cultivate reverence, remembrance, and ethical living as offerings to Hari, aligning study and devotion with a single highest aim.